I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" When they arrived at the Kuja Palace atop the central mountain of Amazon Lily, the development of events was beyond Tina’s expectations.

The Pirate Empress of the Navy, who always looked down at people with her chin raised, had actually become normal. Even after Margaret finished her report and informed her that one of her subordinates had been knocked unconscious, she neither got angry nor argued with Nagasawa.

This greatly surprised Tina. She remembered that Hancock was supposed to be extremely arrogant and despise men.

The conversation between the two sides wasn’t particularly harmonious, but it was still fairly normal. No conflict broke out. Even Margaret found it a little strange. She had already prepared herself to be blamed by the Empress, yet nothing happened.

Nagasawa said that he was curious about the Calm Belt and a mysterious nation like Amazon Lily, so he wanted to stay and sightsee for a few days.

The Pirate Empress frowned slightly, unwilling to agree.

Although Shakky had said that Nagasawa was a very good Marine and had a close relationship with her, Luffy was still training on an island near Amazon Lily. If Nagasawa discovered him, it would be troublesome.

Gloriosa, standing beside her, clearly understood Hancock’s concerns and stepped forward.

"Admiral Nagasawa, staying on the island for a few days is naturally no problem. However, this is, after all, Amazon Lily. As a man, there are many inconveniences for you. Please allow our warriors to accompany you, lest the island’s rules be broken."

In fact, Gloriosa was already very satisfied with Hancock’s performance today. The moment she saw Nagasawa walk into the palace, her pupils shook violently.

Because Amazon Lily was located in the Calm Belt, newspapers rarely reached the island. Gloriosa always read every newspaper carefully before analyzing it.

So she recognized Nagasawa immediately as White Horse Admiral, one of the newly appointed Three Admirals.

When she heard that Nagasawa had taught a rude warrior a lesson, Gloriosa had immediately prepared to stop Hancock from acting recklessly.

An Admiral was the Navy Headquarters’ highest combat power. Although Gloriosa believed Hancock was very strong, she didn’t think Hancock could defeat an Admiral. Every Admiral was a monster-like existence.

"That works. We happen to be lacking a guide as well," Nagasawa agreed.

With someone accompanying Nagasawa, Hancock felt relieved and ordered that accommodations be prepared for Nagasawa and Tina.

After Nagasawa and Tina left the palace, Gloriosa smiled and said to Hancock, "Snake Princess, it seems you’ve finally become a qualified empress."

"What do you mean by that, Granny Nyon? I’ve always been a qualified empress. And don’t forget to add ’Lady,’" Hancock said proudly as she raised her head.

Gloriosa: ...

She really couldn’t take compliments. The moment she was praised, her condition flared up again.

However, the guards around them didn’t think the Pirate Empress was acting up at all. They gazed at her with infatuated expressions and praised her.

"That’s right! Lady Snake Princess has always been a qualified empress. No, she’s the best empress!"

...

Nagasawa and Tina’s residence was arranged outside Kuja City.

On the way there, Nagasawa smiled and said, "This counts as your loss, doesn’t it, Tina?"

"Tina lost. But how did you do it?" Although Tina felt a little depressed after losing, she had no intention of going back on her word and admitted it directly. However, she was still curious about how Nagasawa had accomplished it.

"I’ve met her before. She’s far too arrogant and doesn’t take us Marines seriously at all. During the war, she even attacked friend and foe alike," Tina said.

"Who knows? Maybe it’s because I’m more handsome. Handsome guys always have special privileges," Nagasawa said seriously as he stroked his chin.

Since Tina had not yet been influenced into joining the Revolutionary Army’s camp, Nagasawa naturally wouldn’t tell her the real reason.

Tina fell silent after hearing Nagasawa’s answer. She then carefully sized him up for a moment and realized that he really could be considered handsome.

’No, that’s not the point. Hancock simply hates men.’ Tina quickly calmed herself and confirmed that Nagasawa was obviously joking.

"Admiral Nagasawa, Tina suspects this was just a coincidence. Maybe you were simply lucky," Tina said after thinking for a moment.

She wanted to see if she could provoke Nagasawa into revealing the truth himself.

Unfortunately, Nagasawa didn’t cooperate at all. Chuckling, he said, "Maybe. After all, handsome people are rarely unlucky."

In the end, Tina gave up. She had already lost anyway, and the result was that she could no longer stop Nagasawa from wandering around as he pleased.

"Still, this so-called world’s most beautiful woman, Hancock, doesn’t seem quite as exaggerated as the rumors claim," Nagasawa said.

Tina looked at Nagasawa somewhat unexpectedly. Hancock was extremely popular throughout the world, and even among the Marines there were quite a few people infatuated with her beauty.

"She is indeed very beautiful, but calling her the world’s most beautiful woman is an exaggeration. I think, Tina, you’re no worse than she is," Nagasawa said with a smile.

He wasn’t simply flattering her. That was his genuine opinion.

Although Hancock was beautiful, she hadn’t given him any overwhelming shock.

"Tina is surprised. It seems your strengths aren’t limited to your great power, Admiral Nagasawa," Tina said in surprise.

As for Nagasawa saying she was no worse than Hancock, Tina confidently accepted the compliment. As a confident woman, she had confidence in both her strength and her appearance.

"Of course. You’ll discover even more in the future," Nagasawa laughed after seeing Tina confidently accept it.

After that, Nagasawa and Tina really did seem as though they were on vacation, eating Amazon Lily’s specialty foods and sightseeing around the island.

Of course, that was only on the surface. The truth was that while Tina was genuinely having fun, Nagasawa’s main body was doing the same, while a Shadow Clone secretly transformed into Tobirama and infiltrated Hancock’s palace.

When Nagasawa arrived, a female warrior was reporting intelligence to the Pirate Empress.

Seeing someone suddenly intrude, the Pirate Empress, who had been sitting lazily on her throne, instantly turned cold and sharp.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into my palace!" The Pirate Empress stood up immediately and shouted coldly.

Only then did the other Amazon warriors notice that there was now an additional white-haired man in the room. They immediately drew their bows and swords, pointing them at Nagasawa.

"Pirate Empress, don’t be so impatient. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to seek your cooperation," Nagasawa said calmly despite having blades pointed at him.

"You trespass into my palace and still dare to speak of cooperation? Only death awaits you!" Hancock said as she raised her head. After speaking, she prepared to attack personally.

A man entering Amazon Lily without permission and even trespassing into her palace had undoubtedly violated Hancock’s greatest taboo. If he had barged in while she was bathing and discovered the mark on her back, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"Perfume Femur!"

The Pirate Empress formed a heart shape with her hands, and a pink heart-shaped beam instantly shot toward Nagasawa.

Unfortunately, the Nagasawa struck by the beam was completely unaffected. Instead, the Amazon warriors beside him were petrified by the beam.

"He wasn’t turned to stone?" Hancock said in surprise.

To be immune to her Perfume Femur, one either had to distract oneself with pain like Momonga or, like Luffy, have absolutely no lustful thoughts toward her. This intruder was clearly the latter.

"Impressive willpower, but this ends here," Hancock said as she prepared to use another technique to deal with Nagasawa.

Her beauty was her weapon, but it wasn’t her only reliance. She still possessed other techniques that could petrify people even if they weren’t attracted to her.

"Snake Princess, don’t attack! This is none other than the White Devil who killed a Celestial Dragon not long ago!" Gloriosa recalled the newspaper from not long ago and quickly shouted.

Gloriosa knew just how much Hancock hated the Celestial Dragons, so she immediately brought up the glorious deed accomplished by Nagasawa’s alias.

"He killed a Celestial Dragon?" The Pirate Empress stopped in her tracks and couldn’t help turning back to ask Gloriosa.

"That’s right. About a month ago, he killed Saint Charlos at the Sabaody Archipelago. That’s why I keep telling you to read the newspapers," Gloriosa answered helplessly.

The way Hancock looked at Nagasawa immediately changed. Because she had once been kidnapped by human traffickers and turned into a Celestial Dragon’s slave, she deeply hated the Celestial Dragons.

Although she didn’t fall for Luffy solely because he had beaten up a Celestial Dragon, it was definitely a major bonus.

And Nagasawa hadn’t merely beaten one—he had killed one.

"I didn’t expect my reputation to have spread all the way to the Calm Belt. That certainly makes things much easier," Nagasawa said with a smile.

"If you’re a warrior who killed a Celestial Dragon, then I can forgive your offense. Tell me about this cooperation of yours," Hancock said as she sat back down upon her throne.

"It’s cooperation to overthrow the World Government," Nagasawa said casually.

Hancock revealed a shocked expression, clearly startled by Nagasawa’s words.

"Overthrow the World Government!" Gloriosa was equally shocked. She hadn’t expected the White Devil to open with such astonishing words.

Recalling the White Devil’s feat of killing a Celestial Dragon, Gloriosa roughly guessed his identity.

"Could it be... you’re one of the Revolutionary Army?" Gloriosa asked.

"That’s right. I am Senju Tobirama, advisor to the Revolutionary Army," Nagasawa introduced his alias.

"The Revolutionary Army? The same Revolutionary Army that Luffy’s father belongs to?" Upon hearing Nagasawa’s words, the Pirate Empress focused on something entirely different from everyone else.

After the Paramount War, the news that Luffy was the son of Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon had already spread across the seas.

Hancock paid no attention to other news, but she always paid close attention to anything concerning Luffy, especially news about his father.

Gloriosa couldn’t help covering her face with one hand. A woman in love really was troublesome.

"That’s right. The leader of our Revolutionary Army is Luffy’s father, Monkey D. Dragon," Nagasawa replied.

"Snake Princess, you must think this through carefully. If we cooperate with the Revolutionary Army, it won’t simply mean losing our status as one of the Seven Warlords. The Revolutionary Army is the organization the World Government fears most," Gloriosa said with a solemn expression.

She truly feared that Hancock would hear it was Luffy’s father’s organization and immediately agree because of lovestruck impulses.

This was a decision that would affect the very survival of Amazon Lily.

"What should I do? Does Luffy’s father like calm girls, or lively girls..." Hancock imagined the scene of Luffy introducing her to his family.

"Snake Princess, that’s not what I told you to think about!" Gloriosa felt her blood pressure surge, nearly coughing up blood from Hancock’s behavior.

"Indeed. Since I’m so beautiful, Luffy’s father will definitely like me too. There’s nothing to worry about," Hancock said while cupping her face.

Gloriosa: ...

She truly wanted to crack open Hancock’s head with the snake staff in her hand just to see what was inside.

"There’s no need to go that far. Even if you join the Revolutionary Army, we don’t need you to announce it to the world immediately. Instead, you’ll act together with us when the Revolutionary Army launches its great counteroffensive against the World Government.

Before that, you can continue maintaining your status as one of the Seven Warlords, secretly building up your strength while waiting for the right opportunity."

"Even so, why should Amazon Lily risk being destroyed by the World Government just to help your Revolutionary Army?" Gloriosa took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking slowly.

Her meaning was very simple. They weren’t fools. If they were to cooperate, Nagasawa had to show sincerity.

Nagasawa smiled and said, "Because helping the Revolutionary Army is the same as helping yourselves. If you don’t join the Revolutionary Army’s side, you’ll eventually end up opposing the Marines anyway."

"The Seven Warlords are merely a temporary measure created by the World Government to maintain stability. Once the World Government’s power becomes sufficient, they naturally won’t need them anymore.

Many high-ranking officers in the Marines are extremely dissatisfied with this system because many of the Seven Warlords have failed to fulfill their responsibilities and instead caused countless problems.

So the abolition of the Seven Warlords system is inevitable. The only difference is whether it happens sooner or later. If someone is willing to push for it, it will happen sooner. It might even be abolished at next year’s World Conference."

"If the Seven Warlords system disappears, I believe you understand better than I do what will happen to Amazon Lily. Times have changed. With Seastone warships, it’s far too easy for the Marines to come here now."

"The abolition of the Seven Warlords system..." After hearing Nagasawa’s words, the wrinkles on Gloriosa’s aged face seemed to deepen.

She had always treasured Hancock’s position as one of the Seven Warlords because as long as Hancock remained one, Amazon Lily was effectively an ally of the World Government and the Marines and would not be attacked by them.

"Perhaps the Seven Warlords system really will disappear one day, but it definitely won’t happen as quickly as you say." After thinking it over carefully, Gloriosa felt that much of what Nagasawa had said was far too idealistic.

How could such a system simply disappear after only one year? In such a short time, what would the World Government use to make up for the military power lost by abolishing the Seven Warlords?

"Your sources of information are too limited. You have no idea how much the times have already changed. Of the three Marine Admirals, two are already preparing to target the Seven Warlords system," Nagasawa said with a smile.

"Your Revolutionary Army can obtain information about Marine Admirals?" Gloriosa looked at Nagasawa suspiciously.

"Do you think I don’t understand Marine Admirals well enough?" Nagasawa smiled.